A church with music is a little like an ocean at high tide. The waters of inspiration peak and the depths broaden when music swells to its fullest. You'd have to look hard to find a church that doesn't celebrate the ideas of its message with the artistry of vocal melodies and joyful instrumentation. And clearly, church musicians take a significant part in these ministries.
Edwin C. Starner and Julia Wade, organist and soloist, respectively, of The Mother Church—The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston—say that the goal of their musical performances in church is healing. Always.
Ed Starner, who has made his home for the past 13 years perched behind the keys of the grand Aeolian-Skinner that tops out at 13,290 pipes (one of the largest pipe organs in the world), earned a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance and a Master of Music in Piano Accompanying and Coaching from Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey. Before his current appointment, his career included teaching organ at his alma mater as well as serving as director of continuing education there. Beyond his academic background, Ed has also served as organist and choral director in several major US East Coast churches.
Classically trained yet constantly evolving, Julia Wade performs both publicly and in the recording studio. She has performed nationally and internationally in concert work, musical theatre, opera, and cabaret. Currently, her career focuses on inspirational music. Her three solo CDs—Story for The Ages; Upon the Mountain; and The Greatest Thing in the World—attest to her desire to record spiritually uplifting music. Julia and her traveling musical ensemble tour throughout the United States, most recently performing her inspirational concert, "A Canvas of Colors."
Ed Starner, Julia Wade, and I recently talked together about music, church, and—whether we are the musicians performing or the congregants listening—what each of us can do to enliven our churches.
I try to tell a story, illuminate a central idea in the Lesson-Sermon, or bring a new perspective to a familiar text.
—Julia Wade, Soloist
As musicians and artists, you likely put creative expression high on your list of priorities. And we all love to feel fresh inspiration when worshiping in church. How have you found ways to express spontaneity and creativity in your music within the parameters of the order of service in Christian Science churches?
Ed Starner: The order of service is a loom on which we weave the service. The beauty of the performing arts is that each time we re-sing or replay a piece of music, it's a new composition.
Julia Wade: I work to bring new and contemporary music, as well as diverse cultures, to the services, while still performing familiar and time-honored pieces. I also find different ways to present each song. For example, I usually perform largely without holding the music so that I'm freer to communicate with the congregation. I try to tell a story, illuminate a central idea in the Lesson-Sermon, or bring a new perspective to a familiar text. I also like to find new ways of approaching a familiar piece of music through new arrangements.
ES: The organ here at The Mother Church has nearly 200 stops, so I'm always experimenting with the colors on every piece of music I play. I set all the stops ahead of time and have a prescribed path that I plan to follow, but I'm constantly listening to see if I need to change the interpretation of the music. There's a Bible verse that says, "Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it" (Isa. 30:21). This is what I do. As I'm playing, I'm listening ahead for that voice to tell me to slow down here or go faster there. It's a total listening process while I'm performing.
On occasion I have also introduced a key change in the last verse. I insert three or four beats before going directly into the final verse, where I take it up a half-step. I do it to elevate that verse. It's usually a verse that implies a "Therefore. ..." For example, I've done this with the third verse of Hymn 356 in the Christian Science Hymnal. The second verse ends, "Help us to understand Thy holy counsel, / For in obedience lies our active rest." And then comes the "therefore," beginning the next verse (with the change in key): "We, now redeemed through Love, return to Zion. ..."
JW: I sang "Amazing Grace" for years with an arrangement that I had done often, and I felt it was very much in my soul. Then came "Amazing Grace Sunday" on February 18, 2007. Churches and individuals across the country sang and played the song to commemorate the abolition of the British slave trade 200 years ago. When I was asked if I could sing "Amazing Grace" for the solo, I took the opportunity to bring a specific perspective. I worked with my arranger to not only use fresh and open harmonies, but to also put part of the song in a minor key to express my sense of the journey of redemption—as another hymn terms it, "From sense to Soul" (Christian Science Hymnal, No. 64). It worked beautifully, and I was so grateful to contribute my part, given the worldwide attention to the song that day.
Let's say members of a branch church feel they've exhausted all the traditional organ music and solos. Is there a resource they can go to that offers fresh music of both traditional and contemporary styles?
ES: Darcey Press has recently released four volumes of organ music on hymn tunes of various difficulty: 36 Hymn Preludes and 83 Musical Gifts, Parts I, II, and III.
JW: The Internet is where I spend my time researching music. One site of special interest is www.solofinder.com. This is only one among many sites, but I do find it to be one of the most organized resources for soloists in Christian Science services. You can also search the Web for "inspirational sheet music" or go onto iTunes to search song titles and composers. I also listen to people's suggestions. It's an endless search and one of my favorite parts of the job.
What do you feel are some misconceptions that Christian Science branch church members have regarding music as it relates to church?
ES: The feeling that the prelude and postlude are extraneous. That they are filler. The prelude really is preparation. It's time to come into the auditorium, leave the world outside, calm your thought, and prepare for the worship service. For the prelude, I start with something light, and then move into something more romantic and end with that. The prelude will sometimes build in the middle and then bring the listener right back down. You take the listeners with you on that journey. On Thanksgiving Day, though, I always end with a loud prelude, because I feel that's the spirit of that entire service. Then the postlude is the time for reflecting on what you've heard. It's the great "AMEN!" So it's always a grand piece of music and joyful.
JW: People have sometimes told me that they didn't always understand the purpose of the solo. I see it simply as an opportunity for inspiration and healing during the service. I've heard you say so many times, Ed, that Mrs. Eddy specifically wove music throughout the service. I've seen that every aspect of our services is meant to heal, and that definitely includes the solo.
ES: Mrs. Eddy had this to say regarding the importance of congregational singing in our church services: "A word to the wise is always sufficient. For several months past, a divine direction has to my sense been giving me to know that congregational singing is the best song service for the Church of Christ, Scientist. Why? Because this part as well as its others should [be] of the Spirit, not matter. Again, singing is, if harmony, an emotion more spiritual than material and must, to touch my heart, or ear, come from devout natures" (V01540, Mary Baker Eddy to Albert and Mary C. Metcalf, August 8, 1897, The Mary Baker Eddy Collection, The Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity).
For several years I conducted hymn-singing workshops at The Mother Church. We first went through the Christian Science Hymnal and sang all the hymns that we usually don't sing, and then later went back and sang every hymn. I have also researched around 20 or 25 new hymns, which we've practiced in the workshops. And our First Reader has the option of selecting one or more of those new ones for the services.
As you prepare your music and then perform those selections in church, how do you try to account for people's varying tastes in musical styles?
ES: Mrs. Eddy made this statement in Science and Health: "Music is the rhythm of head and heart" (p. 213). I believe she's saying that music should strike a balance between the intellect and the emotion. If the music is too intellectual, it will be cold and abstract. If it's too emotional, it will be sentimental and saccharine-sweet. So I'm constantly trying to find that balance between head and heart.
JW: One of the biggest challenges I face is choosing music for a diverse congregation. I constantly try to weave in a balance of traditional and new music. Well, as the old saying goes, you can't please all of the people all the time! But I can sing with my highest sense of integrity and pray to be led to perform music and lyrics that I deeply believe in and that I'm inspired to share.
I think a misconception is that if we do modern compositions, we're not going to continue to do some of the old, well-beloved pieces. And that isn't true. When you come from a context of contemporary music, then when you sing that favorite traditional piece, its beauty will be heard again, with fresh ears, and perhaps its original intent will be further appreciated.
ES: Worship is a community activity, and music should reflect the nature of that community. So any style of music that doesn't meet the needs of a majority of the congregation would be questionable, I think. A church in South Africa wouldn't be expected to use the repertoire that The Mother Church in Boston uses. And I think Mrs. Eddy allowed for that variety of expression.
What about the use of different musical instruments? In the Church Manual, Mary Baker Eddy mentioned the organ and piano, yet there is no reference to any other instruments, is there?
ES: Our present understanding for Mother Church services comes from Article 19, Section I, of the Manual: "Music from the organ alone should continue about eight or nine minutes for the voluntary and six or seven minutes for the postlude ..." (pp. 61-62). We interpret this as the only restriction as to the use of other instruments in the church. If we have a guitar player before the service, as we have had on occasion, he plays before the organ prelude is to begin. Other instruments can be used for the hymns or solo.
I'm constantly listening to see if I need to change the interpretation of the music.
—Ed Starner, Organist
JW: I'll also point out that the Manual does say specifically "The music in The Mother Church. ..." It doesn't say anything about music in branch churches. That makes me think that branch churches may have more flexibility. Also, in the Appendix to the Manual there is a section called "Present Order of Services" (Manual, p. 120), which makes me wonder, given the word present, if Mrs. Eddy were here today would she perhaps make changes to the order of service and open a wider window? Then it says, "The services should be preceded and followed by organ or piano music of an appropriate character in all cases where this is possible" (p. 121). So I feel that this directive leaves a lot of room for musical expression, which includes additional or different instrumentation.
At The Mother Church during my tenure we've had a violist, guitarist, and harpist accompany the organ and soloist. Most recently, on the Sunday before Annual Meeting, we wanted to reach out on a global level and express the universality of church through music. So we did a piece of music that was written in South Africa, which I sang in Zulu and English. We had a beautiful arrangement for voice and organ, as well as two percussionists. We brought in a shaker and a djembe—a West African drum. And since we also wanted to include youth, we brought in percussionists from the Berklee College of Music here in Boston. It was a special moment at The Mother Church.
If you could communicate one message to Journal readers throughout the world, what would it be?
ES: To include the prelude and postlude in your worship experience. That eight or nine minutes of prayer before the service and six or seven after the service will bless the entire world.
JW: Music is an infinite expression of Soul (God). So be prayerful, be bold, be courageous in this divine adventure of sacred music! Don't be afraid to expand the boundaries of the time-honored. Many people are hungry for new expressions of music. Answer the call. Be fresh and spontaneous! And finally, expect healing from your music!
